Source: Radio New Zealand

Downpours are set to strike the lower South Island, with Fiordland and Southland both under heavy rain watches.

MetService warned that the rainfall could approach warning criteria.

It said there was a moderate chance of Southland’s watch being upgraded to a warning.

The watches are in place from 9am on Sunday, with Fiordland about and north of Dusky Sound’s watch ending at 9pm.

Southland is under a heavy rain watch until 7pm.

️Heavy Rain Watches for Far South ️

A front moves up, slow at first, allowing accumulations to climb a bit in the far south, hence the Heavy Rain Watches. The front then speeds up as it moves northward over the rest of the South Island on Sunday.

We can see the North… pic.twitter.com/D5VmRs2Vl8

— MetService NZ (@MetService) March 7, 2026

Scorching temperatures for South’s east coast

Much of the South Island’s east coast, however, is set for a scorching Sunday, with temperatures almost reaching 30C.

MetService said northwesterly winds and sunny conditions ahead of a cold front were driving the hot temperatures.

It said Blenheim was expected to reach 29C, while Christchurch is forecast to hit 28C. Timaru is also expected to hit 25C, while Ashburton could expect to reach 27C.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

More than $5 million has been granted for a programme to eliminate cervical cancer across the Pacific, with the support of former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern.

The University of Auckland has found the incidence rate of cervical cancer is up to nine times higher in the Pacific Islands than in Australasia.

It said cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease but remains a leading cause of cancer death among Pacific women prompting the university to support the rollout of safe initiatives across the Pacific.

It comes as the Matariki Fund has granted $5.1 million for a programme to eliminate cervical cancer across the Pacific.

The Matariki Fund, administered by Dame Jacinda Ardern, is supporting the programme by expanding access to new and existing locally led cancer prevention initiatives for more people across the Pacific.

Ardern said Pacific women were disproportionately affected by a disease that could be eliminated.

“There is such excellent leadership within the region – this funding is simply about supporting them to save lives with solutions that should be available to everyone.”

Run through University of Auckland’s Centre for Pacific and Global Health, the programme will focus on the Cook Islands and Niue.

Professor Sir Collin Tukuitonga said cervical cancer was preventable, yet too many Pacific women continued to die from it.

The programme aligns with the WHO Global Strategy to Eliminate Cervical Cancer by supporting countries to achieve the “90-70-90” targets by 2030.

This means aiming to achieving 90 percent of girls aged 15 years receiving the HPV vaccine, 70 percent of women screened by age 35 years, and again at 45 years; and 90 percent of women with pre-cancer and invasive cancers treated.

“This investment allows Pacific countries to work together – sharing expertise, strengthening systems, and supporting women leaders – to achieve elimination,” Tukuitonga said.

It would also look to facilitates timely diagnostics to enable treatment for pre-cancerous lesions and invasive cancer.

Professor Judith McCool, head of the School of Population Health and co-director of Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa, said the funding enabled sustainable, system-level change.

“This grant allows us to move beyond isolated interventions to a truly collaborative, Pacific-led approach. By strengthening leadership, governance, and regional partnerships, we are building the foundations for long-term health equity.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis – The centrepiece of Parliament’s week was a two-hour-long special debate on the recently released National Infrastructure Plan.

The Plan is a worthy and fascinating read. The debate had a different tone to many, with general agreement that New Zealand needs to do better on infrastructure.

“They have made a compelling case for change,” Chris Bishop said, introducing the Infrastructure Commission’s work. “We face significant challenges as a country: ageing stock, a backlog of maintenance and renewals, an ageing population, and increased exposure to natural hazard events.”

MPs all agreed that infrastructure planning is too important to be tinged with politics. MPs attempted to reflect this sentiment in the amiable debate, lauding others’ observations, even across the most bitterly fractious party divides.

Credit and blame

From the start, despite genuine effort, the debate failed to avoid politics. Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop lauded his own government for commissioning the Infrastructure Plan. Labour speakers focused on their former colleague Grant Robertson’s role in forming the Infrastructure Commission and commissioning a strategy.

The jealous guarding of credit is likely more automatic than deliberately political. It demonstrates one of the political bidi-bidis in the sock of bipartisan endeavour – other obvious contenders are blame and parochialism.

It would be an odd politician who highlighted his opponent’s success and his own failings. Each party came up with different examples of bad political decisions. For example National’s Katie Nimon pointed to the stop-start work on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, while Labour’s Tangi Utikere pointed to the Interislander ferry (iRex) project.

But the sniping was comparatively minimal and MPs were even buoyed by the general positivity. National’s Nancy Lu said she was impressed by the opposition’s “willingness to work together for the long term betterment of our country”. Out of context that may sound absurd, but it illustrates that MPs tend to presume the automatic rejection of any proposition by those across the political divide.

All parties agreed that politics is detrimental to infrastructure decision-making, and that things need to change. Labour’s spokesperson on Infrastructure and Public Investment is Kieran McAnulty, who called for the Infrastructure Commission to have a stronger role.

“If all Crown infrastructure went through the independent assurance process that the Infrastructure Commission has set up, then we will go a long way to avoiding the cancellation of projects that we have seen in the past.

“It is about confidence and about certainty. And one way to assure that is if we get the settings right, then it doesn’t actually matter what is going to happen at an election, because they know that infrastructure projects have been properly assessed, and nothing has been promised without an ability to pay for it.”

Pork barrels and parochialism

Megan Woods, who has opted to be a list candidate in the next election, also observed a political tendency that, ironically, she will soon be freed from.

“Even in this debate, where I think we’ve had some very thoughtful contributions, we can’t have missed some of the … pork barrel politics that has underwritten infrastructure for too long in this country – that thinking being a good politician is talking about the ‘wins’ in your local patch.”

Typically, National has more electorate MPs, and in this debate they frequently lauded infrastructure projects underway on their own patches. Among them, Grant McCallum (MP for Northland) defended the imminent Northland Expressway, which had attracted strong criticism during the debate: “Is that investment a wise investment? Well, for the people of Northland, it is. And it’s because we’re making up for generations of a lack of investment.”

Green MP Julie Anne Genter had earlier noted the difficult cost-benefit choices involved, arguing that the possible cost of the Northland project was equivalent to seven new Dunedin Hospitals. McCallum wasn’t alone though. ACT’s Simon Court had earlier decried the state of the highway in Northland, while New Zealand First’s Andy Foster touted the project’s economic benefits.

The only MP who loudly decried a new road on their own patch was Green Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul, who said of Wellington’s new double tunnel project: “if you want to save money for the people of New Zealand, don’t do that project”.

Glum projections

Despite the calls for a bipartisan approach, Labour’s MP Ayesha Verrall sounded pretty glum about the projected health needs in the report, as well as the impact of politics on their delivery. (The plan notes we are likely to need 4900 additional hospital beds by 2043, to add to the current 12,000.)

“New Zealanders want roads, they want hospitals, they want schools, they want an electricity grid that works, and yet, it’s too tempting for us to lean into the politics around infrastructure that is detrimental to us achieving those outcomes.

“I am so grateful for the thoughtful contributions that I’ve heard today that suggest something else might be possible. I don’t underestimate the challenge of maintaining this posture from here, though. How easy is it going to be, in the next seven months, to promise a road, to oppose a road, to try and make political hay out of cancelling or promoting an infrastructure project?”

Some MPs appeared to doubt they can be collectively trusted to sufficiently eschew politics to plan infrastructure effectively, but none were suggesting that infrastructure should be entirely removed from their oversight and control.

The Infrastructure Plan is an attempt to instil strategic thinking in government planning. It is not the project ‘to do’ list that its title might imply.

• New Zealand’s first national infrastructure plan unveiled

It is a fascinating read though, full of revealing details of the sorts of things that should guide investment decisions. For example, in education, projections suggest an increase in school-aged Māori, while Pākehā school-aged populations decline (possibly meaning an increased demand for Māori immersion schools); while a shifting population distribution has led to 11 percent of schools (224 schools) being less than 50 percent utilised.

The Infrastructure Plan looks forward 30 years. A few MPs referred to climate change and referenced ‘resilience’, but no one raised the potentially politically unpalatable impacts of three decades of accelerating weather events and coastal inundation. No one raised whether, for example, some of our significant coastal infrastructure will become physically or financially impossible to retain, and the implications of that on local populations.

The Infrastructure Plan can be found here.

The Hansard record of the debate can be found here.

* RNZ’s The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament’s Office of the Clerk. Enjoy our articles or podcast at RNZ.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

“There’s a power imbalance and it’s also off-the-record in an ‘under the desk’-style and I just find that dangerous,” former broadcasting minister Marian Hobbs told RNZ politics show The Whip last Wednesday.

She was reacting to current broadcasting minister Paul Goldsmith telling reporters in Parliament earlier that day TVNZ’s board chair Andrew Barclay had called him the previous weekend.

Goldsmith said that during the call Barclay raised a TVNZ 1News story aired last week – about the rising number of gang members – which had irritated Goldsmith and others in the government.

It didn’t come up on The Whip, but back in 2005 a former Labour colleague Hobbs appointed to the TVNZ board – Dame Anne Hercus – resigned in the wake of a row in which she was accused of leaking information about Judy Bailey’s salary to the government.

The scandal that followed created pressure on the entire TVNZ board to quit.

“The broadcasting law is clear that no minister can give media instructions about political coverage or anything like that,” Goldsmith said when questioned about it in Parliament the next day.

The editorial independence of TVNZ is protected by the TVNZ Act 2003, which says no minister should interfere with news at the state-owned broadcaster. TVNZ’s own editorial policy also has rules on influence from inside and out.

TVNZ board members are not supposed to exert influence on news or respond to complaints about it either.

You could be forgiven for thinking that only the media and political people would care about what seems like an obscure line that might be crossed. But while instances are rare – or rarely become public – it does matter if it happens.

How did this controversy come to light?

It was sparked by another story aired on 1News last Tuesday – all about the latest Crime and Victims survey showing 49,000 fewer victims of violent crime than in 2023.

Those figures were announced five days earlier – and hailed by the government as an endorsement of the government’s policies.

But they were not reported on 1 News on that day, when the same senior political reporter – Benedict Collins – instead reported on the official number of gang members overtaking the number of police officers.

Collins also pointed out the PM had said – in a pre-election debate in 2023 – this would not happen. The story also included Hamiltonians saying crime appeared to be getting worse there.

“Absolutely unbelievable that on a day that the Government announces 49,000 fewer victims of violent crime and a 22 per cent decrease in serious repeat youth offending — 1News chose instead to engage in unbalanced journalism,” police minister Mark Mitchell vented on Facebook.

Cabinet colleagues endorsed the post as “a must-read”.

On Newstalk ZB’s afternoon show the next day, Mark Mitchell said TVNZ had called him and apologised for that story.

“My message to them was: ‘if you want to maintain public confidence, just engage in balanced journalism. You shouldn’t be a mouthpiece for the opposition either.’”

It’s very unusual for a broadcaster to apologise formally to a politician like that.

It came under the headline: The Govt gets its wish from 1News – a headline on fewer crime victims.

Newsroom co-editor Tim Murphy cited “concern within the wider TVNZ operation about who in the company was involved in discussions about broadcasting a second story that would include the Government-favourable statistics”.

“If there is evidence of the directors being across the decision, or involved in encouraging a second report to assuage Government criticisms, the company can be sure of another round of political attention – from opposition parties.”

And the media.

Did TVNZ’s directors seek to direct its news?

On Wednesday, Mark Mitchell told the House he did not contact TVNZ or its board members.

But Paul Goldsmith – who’s also the Justice Minister – told reporters the TVNZ board chair Andrew Barclay had called him last weekend. He insisted that when the gang numbers story came up, he told Barclay he couldn’t discuss it.

Asked in the House the next day if the Chair should have raised TVNZ reporting with the minister at all, Goldsmith said: “in the context of a board focusing on improving levels of trust … I don’t have a particularly strong view. He probably shouldn’t have, but it’s certainly not a major issue”.

But it would be if TVNZ news responded to pressure or instruction from within the broadcaster as a result of complaints from government ministers – or its own governors acting on them.

TVNZ’s response

An earlier statement TVNZ said it chose to run the follow-up story in the interests of balance.

TVNZ said the board takes an interest in how editorial standards are maintained, [but] decisions on how stories are covered are made independently.

TVNZ told Mediawatch chief executive Jodie O’Donnell concluded the positive crime stats could have been included in the otherwise-accurate gang numbers story aired on Thursday last week.

She asked news leaders last Monday to look at the story, but TVNZ says that process was already underway.

Mediawatch asked to speak to TVNZ CEO Jodie O’Donnell. TVNZ declined citing “a full dance card” on the day TVNZ released its latest financial results.

On Friday the New Zealand Herald quoted Jodie O’Donnell – also the company’s editor-in-chief – as saying there was “no political or board interference.”

But she also told the Herald the TVNZ chair Andrew Barclay had asked her: ‘Are you comfortable that we’ve maintained editorial standards?’”

Mediawatch asked TVNZ if the government’s criticism of the gang numbers story was discussed by the TVNZ board members. And if so, was the board’s response then communicated to CEO Jodie O’Donnell – or to broadcasting minister Paul Goldsmith?

TVNZ said Minister Mitchell’s Facebook post was raised by board directors with CEO Jodi O’Donnell but “Board Directors have not discussed the story with the CEO – or given any editorial direction.”

TVNZ also told Mediawatch the CEO did not direct political editor Maiki Sherman to apologise to the Minister of Police last week.

TVNZ also said O’Donnell had no role in the follow-up story last Tuesday – and has not given reporters any instruction about changing their approach to balance in future political reporting as a result of complaints about the original ‘gang numbers’ story.

Crossing the line?

The TVNZ Act 2003 says no shareholding minister – or any minister – can “give direction to TVNZ in respect of its programmes, content or any complaints about its content or the gathering or presentation of its news and current affairs”.

“‘Direction’ isn’t defined in the act, but … a ‘direction’ is something that is quite formal. It’s more than seeking to influence pressure on an organisation. It has to be a formal requirement,” University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis told Mediawatch.

“This is more a question of the sort of relationship we think the governing body of TVNZ ought to have with a minister – and what he should be talking with the minister about in private.”

“If it’s to gauge how upset the Minister is and what sort of risk of blowback there is for the organisation, that’s troubling because it would seem to indicate the board is worried that how news is operating may harm the wider organisation in the future.”

Police Minister Mark Mitchell criticising TVNZ’s “unbalanced” news journalism would not breach the TVNZ Act.

“What it does do though is raise this question of how ought ministers seek to express their disappointment or disagreement with media. There is a formal structure for complaints … through the Broadcasting Standards Authority,” Prof Geddis said.

“Complaining to that body and getting a formal ruling on does have a kind of disciplining effect on the media.”

Why apologise?

Two years ago David Seymour criticised a Benedict Collins story including a health advocate who David Seymour said had earlier criticised him. He also criticised TVNZ correspondent John Campbell for quoting and linking to a left-wing blogger.

“We are not asking for sympathy but are asking for our politicians to respect the independence of our media so they can get on with their work,” TVNZ said at the time.

Last week, TVNZ’s political editor Maiki Sherman apologised to Police Minister Mark Mitchell about that gang numbers story that aired last week.

The ‘good news’ crime survey stats could have been included as relevant and newsworthy context, or mentioned in the introduction, or even reported elsewhere in the bulletin.

But news shows and their reporters have every right to zero in on an angle when they see one. As Benedict Collins pointed out in his report last week, gang membership overtaking the police was part of a trend. It also contradicted a previous promise from the prime minister and it was tied to the parallel issue of police recruitment targets.

As Newsroom’s Tim Murphy pointed out on RNZ’s Midday Report, the Ministry of Justice surveys come out frequently and recent ones have also recorded significant falls in reported crime.

Editorial oversight at NZME

Questions about influence on the news were also raised last year when Trade Me bought a share in Stuff Digital last year – and when NZME created an Editorial Advisory Board (EAB).

That came out of the bid by activist shareholder James Grenon to persuade other shareholders to replace the entire NZME board – and introduce greater oversight news at the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB.

The appointment this week of Hamish Rutherford as chair of the EAB raised eyebrows.

He was a business journalist before becoming Chief Press Secretary to Christopher Luxon until late 2024 when he left to become a PR professional.

This week NZME told Mediawatch that Rutherford would continue working in PR while chairing the board advising NZME on its editorial matters.

“I’ve been upfront with [NZME] chairman Steven Joyce about my other work and will continue to be,” Rutherford told The Post.

Steven Joyce told The Post the EAB did not make editorial decisions and “all members are subject to our conflict of interest policies”.

Joyce is also a consultant who has contracted for government projects such as a medical school for the University of Waikato.

The PR firm Hamish Rutherford works for – BRG – told The Post it sees no conflict of interest problems.

“If any perceived or actual conflicts of interest arise, we will manage them quickly and appropriately,” managing director Georgina Stylianou said.

But that won’t be done in public – all behind closed doors at NZME, unless details are shared with investors in scheduled briefings or if it comes up from the floor at AGMs.

“So NZME – chaired by a former National Party cabinet minister and campaign manager – has appointed an editorial board that’s going to be chaired by a former National Party press secretary,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins told The Post when he was made aware the appointment.

And there are two other former press secretaries on the four-person board, one of whom – Brent Webling – also served National party leaders.

And this alarmed the Democracy Project’s Dr Bryce Edwards – a longtime advocate of tightening up on lobbying.

“A practising government relations lobbyist is now leading the body that provides “advice, support and constructive challenge” to NZME’s editorial team. The board advises on editorial standards, audience development, and – tellingly – “strategic positioning in New Zealand’s evolving media landscape,’ Dr Edwards wrote.

He said while NZME is a private company and is entitled to appoint whoever it likes, “public perception is the whole point of being a news organisation.”

The other main thing news organisations do telling the public things they need to know.

NZME wasn’t willing to talk openly about the work of its EAB this week.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Shore Plover Recovery Group has confirmed the first fledgling of the bird from Pitt Island in 150 years.

Pitt Island is the second largest of the Chatham Islands, which the shore plover – also known as the tūturuatu in te reo Māori, or tchūriwat’ in ta rē Moriori (Moriori language) – are native to.

There is a population of 250, which live in Māngere and Rangatira, as well as on Portland Island – south of Māhia Peninsula in Hawke’s Bay.

The fledgling is a result of a feral cat control programme to increase the population by the community living on Pitt Island.

Chairman Dave Houston said feral cats had eliminated the population on Pitt Island, as well as the mainland of New Zealand, in the 1870s.

But the programme allowed the shore plover to breed and for their chicks to survive after hatching, Houston said.

“The community were really engaged in that during the Jobs for Nature period after Covid.”

Houston hoped for another fledging next year.

“It really depends on the cats on Pitt Island.

“We need sustained cat control to continue, or even better, to have the feral cats eradicated from the island.

“That’s a bit of a long term project, but it’s sort of a glimpse of what could be if we could have cats eradicated and get double the shore plover population, so go from the current 250 birds in the total world population to maybe 500 or more. That’d be great.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A reinfestation of invasive millipedes, crawling out of the soil and into homes, is sending residents of Wellington’s south coast to arm themselves against the bugs.

The alarm was sounded about the portuguese millipede almost a year ago, with stories of people finding hundreds of the scaly black creatures outside or inside bags, shoes and even beds.

Since then, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has identified the species in New Plymouth and Nelson – and while it is considered a nuisance, it’s not classified as a pest species and doesn’t meet the threshold for official control measures.

However residents hope to fight back, and are pinning their hopes on a tiny parasitic worm to suppress millipede numbers.

The microscopic nematode wriggles inside its host, where it reproduces. Eventually the nematode offspring become so numerous they burst out of the host’s body, killing it.

A newcomer to Ōwhiro Bay told RNZ he planned to unleash an “aggressive” species of the nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, in addition to barrier sprays and insecticides.

“At this point there’s less concrete more millipedes as I step out of the house. They’re just pouring out of the soil – [it’s] probably got to do with the [recent] rainfall.

“It’s essentially like a millipede graveyard right now.”

He said he was aware of the millipedes before he moved, so was prepared, but the “volume, and the speed” of their emergence was “alarming”.

He hoped his experiment could potentially benefit others and if successful, “nip the problem in the bud”.

A trial of the nematode Steinernema feltiae as a biocontrol agent for the millipede is currently underway at Victoria University – results are expected in a few weeks’ time, but those plagued by the millipedes aren’t waiting.

Another Ōwhiro Bay resident, who had already sprayed the species of microscopic worm told RNZ their place was one of several houses on the street planning to use it.

“We … haven’t seen any effect yet. But that’s to be expected – it’s a long term thing.”

They said the millipedes were already appearing as numbers tended to surge in autumn and spring.

“They’ve started turning up – you’ll see 10, then the next day you’ll see 20, 30, and then before you know it, they’re just … everywhere.

“If I actually counted them up there’d be a couple of hundred outside and then maybe 10 or 20 inside.

“I’m prepared that they’re going to get worse for a while, before they get better.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The appointment of the current Taranaki Regional Council chief executive as interim New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) chief executive – a role that he will hold alongside his existing position – is a strong signal the two councils are headed towards amalgamation, according to New Plymouth mayor.

The move is believed to be a New Zealand first.

Max Brough said Steve Ruru’s appointment was an indication of what was to come.

“It’s a strong signal and I think, if you ask anybody in the wider local government sector, they all acknowledge reform is needed and it’s coming at us.”

Brough said the appointment would strengthen both organisations before local government reforms.

“It’s great, actually, because now we can start looking at what’s coming forward in front of us with all of this reform stuff and [we’re] in the perfectly placed position.

“Two councils that are naturally going to come together through the reform process anyway, as it pans out, and we’re going to be at forefront of the country at getting this underway.”

Regional council chair Craig Williamson also welcomed the move.

“Steve understands the complexity of regional functions, the operational realities of territorial authorities and the critical importance of collaboration between the two. He is the perfect person for the job.”

Ruru looked forward to exploring how the councils could work more closely for the benefit of Taranaki.

“The vacancy at NPDC provides an opportunity to pilot an innovative leadership approach in the region. Joint leadership gives us a strong platform to examine service models that could better serve Taranaki.

“This work will benefit both organisations and, most importantly, the communities we serve.”

Ruru would take over from Gareth Green, who concludes his three-year tenure at NPDC in the coming weeks, and he would be in the role, while NPDC recruited a permanent chief executive.

He said both councils would have time to evaluate how service delivery and community outcomes could be improved as part of the wider Simplifying Local Government reforms.

“My focus will be on preparing both organisations for the future. I’m passionate about the role of local government in supporting our communities and I am committed to ensuring both councils remain well positioned through this period of transition.”

Details on how Ruru would split his time between the two organisations and be paid were still to be finalised.

South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon said he had been kept in the loop about developments, but at this stage, they did not involve his district.

“That’s just an agreement between TRC and NPDC. That’s out of the realm of South Taranaki District, that’s for sure.

“We’ve had no discussion, conversation whatsoever [about amalgamation]. I mean, that’s a thing really for the Mayoral Forum to discuss.

“Without further discussion, I’m not sure where this will go.”

Nixon was not sure what people in his district would make of any eventual amalgamation.

“I can’t speak for the community on this particular issue, but what I can make comment on is, when we went out to get submissions on Local Water Done Well around either a regional CCO [council-controlled organisation] or bringing it in-house, our community was very strong as to bringing it in-house.

“A lot made a comment that, whatever you do, we don’t want to be part of New Plymouth. They made it very clear, those ones that did reply to that.”

Stratford Mayor Neil Volzke believed his district and South Taranaki could eventually become involved.

“This is their initiative and they are looking to develop a plan between them. What will happen from there, they have left the door open, should we choose to join in at a later date, but at the moment, the proposal is between those two councils.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A candidate in the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board elections in Auckland wants postal voting scrapped, after their 2025 election result was voided.

This week, a High Court judge in Auckland upheld a district court ruling that a new election should be held, after 79 voting papers were cast without the rightful voter’s knowledge.

Candidate Chris Latham said it was important his community could trust the voting system.

“Their faith in the postal ballot is completely and probably irreparably shot at this point, and I think it’s high time we moved to more modernised voting systems or booth voting, as we do in general elections.”

He said it cost Auckland Council about $200,00 to put on another election for his subdivision.

“The cost is borne by the ratepayer to put on another election. The council has to take an inward look at what went wrong, why it went wrong and how we can avoid it happening in the future.”

Voting for the local board’s four positions opens to residents on Monday, 9 March 2026.

Election Services has confirmed postal voting will be used for the new Papatoetoe election, as it was legally required to undertake the new election on the same basis as the voided election.

Electoral officer Dale Ofsoske told RNZ that extra safeguards were in place for the upcoming election.

“NZ Post posties and Auckland Council library staff have been asked to be extra vigilant in their duties, and to report any unusual behaviour to me or the police. The police have been briefed and are aware of the election taking place, especially over the voting delivery phase.

“Auckland Council is undertaking a communications strategy for the public to be aware of the election and to look out for their voting packs from Monday to Thursday.

“A candidate briefing was held on Monday night, where all candidates were reminded of the dos and don’ts when campaigning.”

Senior lecturer at AUT’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities Julienne Molineaux said postal voting presented security challenges.

“With the delivery of ballots, there’s no oversight to ensure the voter receives their papers and, depending on the letterbox design, they could be easily stolen.

“When turnout is low, fewer people will notice that their ballots didn’t turn up, because they weren’t going to vote anyway.

“The other security risk with postal voting is that the voting takes place in private and it’s not supervised by election officials. This means voters can be bribed, they can be threatened and they can be pressured to vote a certain way.”

She believed in-person voting would resolve those issues, but that it might not increase voter turnout or make it easier for voters.

“I think it would be a mistake to assume that it would also be successful in our local elections, because the two elections are very different.

“For the parliamentary election, we’re asked, as voters, to make only two choices – to vote for a party and vote for a local candidate – and we have political parties, which are an information shortcut for voters. It makes it easier for us to make our decision.

“Local elections have much more complex ballots. My local election ballot for 2025 asked me to make 11 different decisions and that’s quite hard to do on the spot in a booth.”

She said nothing stopped councils from changing how their constituents voted.

She said the Auckland Council voted against postal voting supplemented by booth voting for the 2025 election.

“Existing councillors were elected under the status quo, so it’s no surprise that the majority of them support the system that they have been successful in.

“We need an independent electoral commission running our local elections and making decisions about how they’re run.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lower Hutt’s roads may be blocked up by the Riverlink highway project, but the river itself has so far kept flowing pretty clear.

Bulldozers have been busy in the riverbed and on its banks, shifting masses of stones around.

Meanwhile, monitors in the water upstream and downstream from the epicentre at Melling Bridge have shown some changes in quality.

“Yes, there have been temporary changes in water quality linked to RiverLink construction activities in the river channel,” Greater Wellington Regional Council told RNZ.

However, by mid-February, tight conditions on pollution had only been infringed once, the project copping fines of about $1000.

The changes in the river were allowed on condition the water quality returned to “ambient clarity” approximately one hour after any job was done, the regional council told RNZ.

It released a host of test results under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

The council listed a few minor problems for Te Awa Kairangi partnership – in early January, for instance, the water got clouded by work shifting the entire flow of the river from the east bank to the west under the bridge.

In November, fine sediment levels got too high, triggering the first – and as of mid-February – only “active management response” that concluded it was minor and not directly related to Riverlink.

Back in June 2025, “there was a discharge of sediment-laden water from the haul road and Rockline L3 construction works during a site inspection”. That co-incided with heavy rain, so they quickly built some temporary soakage pits and used hay mulch to turn it around.

So far, the project has done four monitoring reports on the riverbed – three on trout, two on macroinvertebrates and two on indigenous fish.

The Hutt River was popular among trout anglers.

“The potential and actual impacts of the RiverLink Project were considered, assessed and appropriate mitigations applied through the Environment Court Consent process,” the council’s group manager environment Lian Butcher said in the released documents.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

One person died after a motorcycle crash that closed Foxton Shannon Road between the Manawatū towns of Foxton and Shannon on Saturday.

Emergency services were called to the area about 9.40am after reports of a single motorcycle crash between Himatangi Block Road and Poplar Road.

Police said the rider died at the scene.

The road was closed while emergency services responded but has since reopened.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Those waiting outside Auckland International Airport’s arrival area erupted into applause for the landing of the first flight from the Middle East since recent conflict began.

Emirates flight EK448 from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates arrived at 11:30am on Saturday.

The flights follow a partial re-opening of the airspace, amidst the conflict in the Middle East.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Members of New Zealand’s Iranian community and their supporters have formed a human chain on Wellington’s waterfront, calling attention to the situation in Iran and expressing solidarity with people they say are living under repression.

About 60 people from the Iranian diaspora and their supporters stood hand-in-hand for about an hour holding placards and flags, on the capital’s waterfront behind Frank Kitts Park.

Protesters said they organised the event to draw attention to what they describe as widespread unrest and government crackdowns inside the country.

Many participants said they had family members in Iran and were concerned about their safety.

Among those attending was Ali Jafari-Gh, an Iranian-born academic who teaches animal science at Massey University.

Originally from Karaj, near Tehran, Jafari-Gh said he had recently travelled to Iran over the New Year period and witnessed protests first-hand.

He joined demonstrations during his visit and was injured when security forces opened fire.

“I was hit in the foot by gunfire,” he said.

“Many of the people out on the streets were young, and thousands came out to protest.”

Ali Jafari-Gh said the experience reinforced his decision to speak publicly in New Zealand about the situation in his home country.

Shirin, who has lived in New Zealand for about 13 years after leaving Iran, said she joined the demonstration to show support for people protesting against the government.

“People raised their voices because life has become very hard,” Shirin said.

“Many innocent people have been killed or arrested. We are here to support them and show they are not alone.”

Several protesters said they supported international strikes against Iranian government targets, describing them as a necessary intervention rather than a war.

Dr Reza Farhour, a general practitioner who has lived in New Zealand for more than a decade, said demonstrators believed the action was aimed at helping ordinary Iranians rather than harming them.

“We do not see what is happening as a war,” he said.

“We see it as a rescue mission for the Iranian people. People have tried for decades to change the system peacefully and were met with bullets and prison.”

Farhour said the aim of the gathering was also to bring attention to what he described as a lack of information coming out of the country.

“The main aim is to echo the Iranian voice, which is shut down by the government,” he said.

“There is no internet and no media coverage there, so we want people here to know what is happening.”

Participants said communication with relatives in Iran had become increasingly difficult due to internet shutdowns and media restrictions.

Amir, who has lived in New Zealand for more than 16 years, said he had struggled to reach family members in recent weeks.

“Our families are living in fear, but they are also hopeful,” he said.

“Nobody wants their country to be under attack, but many people believe this operation could help free them from the regime.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Scientists are uncovering previously unknown fault lines and signs of hidden earthquake activity across the North Island, as new research sheds light on how the ground beneath Aotearoa moves.

Studies are investigating potential faults beneath Auckland, newly identified fault lines in Wairarapa and signs of past shaking preserved in lake sediments near Hamilton.

Principal scientist Dr Graham Leonard from Earth Sciences New Zealand said the work highlighted how much remained unknown about the country’s geology.

“There are many, many thousands of fault lines across Aotearoa,” he told RNZ’s Saturday Morning.

“We’ve really only studied some hundreds of them in detail.”

In Auckland, researchers have identified one to two dozen possible fault structures beneath the city using thousands of underground drill samples originally taken for buildings and infrastructure projects.

Scientists plan to dig trenches several metres deep across some of the most likely candidates, including structures near Pukekohe or Drury, to determine whether they are active.

By analysing exposed layers of soil and sediment, researchers can identify where past earthquakes have shifted the ground. Buried material, such as wood or charcoal, can then be carbon-dated to estimate when those quakes occurred.

“If there are bits of wood or leaves or charcoal in there, we can carbon date them,” Leonard said.

“That helps us work out when the earthquake happened and whether the fault has been active in the last 100,000 years.”

In Wairarapa, high-resolution laser mapping known as LiDAR has revealed seven previously unknown faults, including several crossing the Wairarapa Valley.

One of them – the 26-kilometre Pāpāwai Fault – has recently been trenched for the first time.

Scientists found a several-metre-wide disturbance zone, suggesting past earthquake movement may have occurred across multiple smaller fractures rather than a single break.

Further trenching work is planned near Masterton to pin down when earthquakes last occurred there.

Another study in the Hamilton Basin uncovered evidence of past earthquake shaking preserved in lake sediments.

Researchers drilled more than 160 shallow sediment cores from lakes and analysed them using medical CT scanners, allowing them to detect disturbances in layers of mud and volcanic ash caused by strong shaking.

Those disturbances, known as seismites, act as natural records of past earthquakes.

The findings suggest some shaking came from distant faults already known to scientists, but other signals likely came from faults beneath the Hamilton area itself.

Leonard said advances in technology were helping researchers detect previously hidden fault lines.

LiDAR scans landscapes with millions of laser measurements taken from aircraft, allowing scientists to digitally remove vegetation and buildings and reveal subtle steps in the ground that may mark faults.

Although Auckland and Hamilton experience fewer earthquakes than other parts of the country, Leonard said that did not mean they were immune to major events.

“You can still have a big earthquake anywhere in Aotearoa.”

He pointed to the 1891 Port Waikato earthquake, which shattered windows across Auckland.

Christchurch had shown how damaging earthquakes could strike areas that rarely experience strong shaking, Leonard said.

The fault responsible for the 2011 Christchurch earthquake had been previously unknown and may only rupture every several thousand years.

Research near Taupō is also examining whether earthquakes and volcanic eruptions may influence each other, after scientists found fault movements around the time of the 232AD Taupō eruption.

Leonard said combining studies like these helped improve New Zealand’s seismic hazard models, which inform building standards and risk planning.

“When we bring all these [studies] together, it helps us understand how faults interact with each other and how earthquakes might cluster in space and time.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J Hercules was expected to depart from Auckland’s Whenuapai air base on Saturday morning for the Middle East to help any New Zealanders who may be stranded by the US-Iran conflict.

But as of 12.30pm, it still had not taken off.

Minister of Defence Judith Collins said the government’s immediate priority was supporting New Zealanders in the Middle East.

“New Zealanders in the region are still being advised to shelter in place, or take any safe and practical opportunities to leave.

“We are preparing a range of contingencies should evacuation operations become possible.”

Collins said Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular staff and two Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J aircraft are being pre-deployed so they “can respond quickly when conditions on the ground allow”.

One of the C-130J Hercules aircraft will depart from Whenuapai on Saturday morning, and is joining another Hercules which Collins said is already in Asia and is being “re-tasked to support this effort”, and is being moved to an “on-going staging location”.

Collins said for security reasons she could not provide specific routes, timings or destinations, but said the aircraft were being positioned to ensure they were ready to assist with any evacuation operations should conditions allow.

Collins also urged New Zealanders in the Middle East to register with Safe Travel to stay updated on evacuation options.

Emirates resumes flights

Emirates said flights were gradually returning to normal after the partial re-opening of airspace in the Middle East.

The airline was running a reduced schedule while it worked to restore its full global network.

It expected to return to full operations in the coming days, depending on airspace availability.

A friend waiting for a New Zealand family coming back from Dubai said they wanted to bring some comfort for their return home.

Michelle Frankham was waiting for her friend at Auckland Airport after what she described as a frightening night in Dubai.

“I know that they spent their last night curled up in their bathroom with two young teenage girls, so we’re here with a car full of groceries and some gift baskets to make them feel better, so we’re just relieved that they’re coming home.”

Around 30,000 passengers were flown out of Dubai on Friday, the airline said.

By Sunday, Emirates expected to operate more than 100 return flights a day to 83 destinations – about 60 percent of its network.

The airline said its full New Zealand service is now running again, with Christchurch handling both inbound and outbound flights to Dubai on Saturday.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Bunnings Warehouse will introduce facial recognition technology (FRT) in its stores across the country in a bid to crack down on high-value theft and serious harm.

From next month, two Hamilton stores will set up the technology to test safeguards are working properly, and it will then be rolled out across the country.

Bunnings manager Melissa Haines said the scale of retail crime was growing, particularly when it came to threatening behaviour by repeat offenders, and showing no sign of stopping.

“Our number one priority is keeping team and customers safe, and we believe that FRT can play an important role in helping to protect people from violence, abuse and intimidation in our stores by repeat offenders.

“The scale of retail crime in New Zealand is accelerating and shows no signs of stopping.”

She said the company had “undertaken a thorough assessment process, with privacy, safety and community expectations at the forefront, and we are taking a phased approach to get this right”.

“FRT gives us a proactive warning when a serious repeat offender enters the store, so we can act before something happens. It adds one more layer to the safety tools we are already using, such as security guards, team member training, body-worn cameras and serious incident response processes.”

Last year three Christchurch supermarkets began trialling FRT, like Bunnings citing regular offenders. Operator Foodstuffs South Island said it would not be used on teenagers, despite people under 18 making up more than half of those deemed a problem.

A study in 2024 found it reduced serious harm in supermarkets by 16 percent.

The Privacy Commissioner in 2025 said facial recognition technology in retail outlets had potential safety benefits, despite raising significant privacy concerns.

Police have been using the technology for years.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Coast Road, Karitane is blocked due to a crash south of the Otago township.

Emergency services were called to the two-vehicle crash just south of Marks Road about 9.25am Saturday.

Police said early indications were the crash had caused serious injuries.

The Serious Crash Unit has been advised.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The road linking Manawatū towns Foxton and Shannon has been closed after a serious crash.

Police said the single-vehicle accident happened between Himatangi Block Road and Poplar Road at around 9.40am on Saturday.

Early indications were that someone suffered a serious injury.

“The Serious Crash Unit has been advised, and motorists are advised to take diversions,” police said in a statement.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A yellow heavy rain watch has been issued for parts of Fiordland, southern Westland and Southland.

MetService issued the watches on Saturday morning as a slow moving front is expected to bring heavy rain to Fiordland and far southern Westland.

Another front is expected to bring heavy rain to Fiordland from early Sunday, and a period of heavy rain is then also expected to affect inland Southland.

The watches are for Westland about and south of Haast from 9am to 9pm Saturday, Fiordland about and north of Doubtful Sound from 9am Saturday to 9pm Sunday, and for Southland from 7am to 7pm Sunday.

All three watches have a moderate chance of upgrading to a warning.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Public health experts are warning the catastrophic failure of Wellington’s Moa Point wastewater treatment plant exposes deep, systemic problems with New Zealand’s infrastructure management.

Early last month a blockage in the plant’s outfall pipe led to a backflow of sewage into the plant, shutting it down and forcing the closure of beaches along the city’s South Coast as up to 70 million litres of untreated sewage was sent into the sea each day.

The University of Otago’s Public Health Communication Centre said the failure was a severe example of problems already affecting systems across Aotearoa.

It said Water New Zealand’s latest performance review recorded more than 3000 sewage overflows nationwide, though the true number was likely higher because reporting had historically been inconsistent.

It also found about 20 percent of the country’s 334 publicly run wastewater treatment plants were operating with expired resource consents, meaning they may not meet current best-practice standards or have robust monitoring in place.

University of Otago research fellow Marnie Pricket said responsibility for water services was spread across multiple organisations, including the national regulator Taumata Arowai, regional councils, local councils and central government ministers.

Pricket said the complexity of that system made accountability unclear when things went wrong.

“For example, Taumata Arowai has oversight of water services but doesn’t currently have the legislative tools to intervene if regional councils fail to regulate wastewater discharges effectively.”

Poor wastewater management posed risks to both human and environmental health, including exposure to raw sewage, contamination of drinking water sources and polluted shellfish beds, she said.

Ageing infrastructure and climate change were also likely to increase the risk of failures in the future.

The government announced a Crown Review Team would investigate the failure under the Local Government Act 2002. But Prickett said that process appeared to focus largely on the role of Wellington City Council, which could limit its ability to investigate the full range of issues affecting wastewater management across the country.

“The drivers of poor wastewater management are much broader than a single council,” she said. “They include policy and investment decisions, workforce limitations, problems with data quality, governance issues, and unclear roles and accountability across agencies.”

The upcoming Crown inquiry must examine not just the immediate cause of the breakdown, but the wider drivers behind wastewater failures nationwide, Prickett said.

“If the inquiry is too narrow, we risk learning lessons only about Moa Point,” she said.

“But this is a national issue, and the inquiry should help us understand how to improve wastewater management across the country.”

The review should follow the model used after the 2016 Havelock North campylobacter outbreak, she said.

“The value of the Havelock North inquiry was that it looked at the specific outbreak, but it also examined the broader drivers of poor drinking water across the country.

“That meant the lessons could be applied nationally. That’s what we’re hoping for with the Moa Point inquiry.”

Local Government Minister Simon Watts was approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J Hercules is set to depart from Auckland’s Whenuapai air base on Saturday morning for the Middle East to help any New Zealanders who may be stranded by the US-Iran conflict.

Minister of Defence Judith Collins said the government’s immediate priority is supporting New Zealanders in the Middle East.

“New Zealanders in the region are still being advised to shelter in place, or take any safe and practical opportunities to leave.

“We are preparing a range of contingencies should evacuation operations become possible.”

Collins said Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular staff and two Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J aircraft are being pre-deployed so they “can respond quickly when conditions on the ground allow”.

One of the C-130J Hercules aircraft will depart from Whenuapai on Saturday morning, and is joining another Hercules which Collins said is already in Asia and is being “re-tasked to support this effort”, and is being moved to an “on-going staging location”.

Collins said for security reasons she could not provide specific routes, timings or destinations, but said the aircraft were being positioned to ensure they were ready to assist with any evacuation operations should conditions allow.

Collins also urged New Zealanders in the Middle East to register with Safe Travel to stay updated on evacuation options.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

One person is dead and another has moderate injuries after a single-vehicle crash in Paparoa, Kaipara District.

Emergency services were called to the intersection of Paparoa Valley Road and Franklin Road at 12.35am on Saturday, after a vehicle had gone down a bank into a stream.

Police said a member of the public performed CPR before emergency services arrived, but one of the car’s occupants died at the scene.

The other was taken to hospital in moderate condition.

The Serious Crash Unit is investigating.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

On 16 acres in Poukawa, south of Hastings, once-bare paddocks have been transformed into a thriving interconnected place for growing.

Kahikatea Farm is a permaculture farm with an established food forest covering just over a hectare, as well as two hectares of silviculture and more recently what’s known as a paddock paradise horse track system.

At the heart of the farm though is the certified organic nursery growing more than 400 different types of permaculture plants.

“They all have at least one main function, and hopefully several other functions as well,” permaculture teacher and gardener Jo Duff explained.

“So they attract pollinating insects, they’re nitrogen fixing, medicinal herbs, they’re edible leaves, they’re perennial vegetables. Yeah, they’ve got to have a use. We don’t grow what we call roundabout plants.”

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Jo and her husband Aaron established Kahikatea Farm almost 20 years ago, taking its name from the Kahikatea Forest which would have stood at the site long ago, before it was converted to grazing farmland.

The Duff family had a vision of working with nature.

They created swales – water harvesting ditches which follow the contour of the rolling hills – to plant the first fruit trees which now form the upper canopy of their established food forest.

Near the start of summer when the surrounding farmland is already golden brown, this part of the farm was an green oasis, layered with fruit-bearing plants.

They established their own permaculture garden to feed them and the many helpers on the farm, including volunteers and those keen to learn from Jo about permaculture principles – earth care, fair share, and people care.

“The vegetable garden supports our family and anybody else who’s staying here at the time,” Jo told Country Life.

The organic nursery was their main business. She said the certification process was relatively straight forward as they grew everything in a potting media that was bought in and pre-certified.

“The potting mix has got fertiliser to last it a good wee while. That’s based mostly on seaweed, compost, and then a trichoderma, which is a friendly micro-organism, which aids with root development and just the basic health of the plant.

“Most things are out the door before really we need to give them an extra feed, and if we do, that’s a seaweed fertiliser.”

Where the organic nursery really shined though was in its feathered friends who helped with pest management, targetting larger snails and slugs which threatened the plants.

They had three different groups of chooks – Rhode Island Reds, Black Orpingtons, and Bantams – and two different types of ducks – Indian Runner ducks and Cayugas – performing different functions in different parts of the farm.

Since introducing the birds, Jo said it had “completely changed” the nursery.

“Everyone who works here really loves having them around. It makes you slow down, because you just stop and watch what they’re doing or have a laugh at some antics, and every spring comes around and you go ‘oh my God, those ducklings are so cute’ and the novelty never wears off.

“We’re so busy in spring, it’s so nice to have that lovely distraction and yeah, it does make you slow down.”

• Find out more about Kahikatea Farm here.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Fieldays are one of the few events farmers will get off paddock for, but a new form of gathering aims to add more life to their work-life balance.

The Underground Festival, which took place on 18-19 February, is a multiday event which combines regenerative farming talks with glamping, music and “mean feeds”.

It’s the brainchild of Tokoroa-raised Fran Bailey, who got the idea after working at the Groundswell festival in the UK.

“It was at a time where there was, sort of, a lot of negativity around farming and climate change.

“I just thought, farmers care about the land and not enough people know about this, so I just, sort of, put a stake in the ground to help tell their stories.”

Bailey found herself working at Groundswell, which takes place annually at Lannock Farm in North Hertfordshire. She eventually brought the idea back home, running a pilot of the Underground Festival in 2025.

One year later, and the vineyard at Greystone Wines was covered in tents and teepees, with 400 farmers making the trip to Waipara with their families.

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On the education front, a number of guest speakers ran talks in the large gathering tents. Topics ranged from biochar to soil health, to moths and butterflies.

Mangaroa Farms kickstarter Jules Matthews spoke on inspiring other farmers to take up the regenerative torch.

“This community is always very embracing, and it’s such a safe environment,” she said.

She attended the test festival last year, and was thrilled by 2026’s crowd size.

“It seems like people are really engaged, and each one of the tents has a good turnout of people.”

The event was as much a celebration of food as it is farming, according to chef Max Gordy. He came down from Wellington to join the Base Food by Fire team in serving up some kai.

Gordy’s ‘eat local, waste less’ ethos aligned with the festival perfectly.

“I’m not going to use processed stuff,” he said. “If you don’t know where your food’s coming from, you’re doing it wrong.”

Slow-cooked beef, roasted zucchini, bread made with local flour – it was all there, and well appreciated by attendees.

“We’re cooking for a bunch of farmers that really appreciate the soil, so they’re probably the most chilliest clientele we could possibly have.”

Bailey hoped this year’s successful run would encourage a bigger turnout in 2027.

“I would just love to see it continue to grow in quite an organic way.”

• Discover more about the Underground Festival here.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Kiwi pilot Henry Phelps has gone from wilderness flying in New Zealand to helping combat Australia’s devastating bushfires.

Working with his brother to control the fires from the air has been an “amazing” experience, he told Country Life.

When not flying for Sounds Air, Phelps has been commuting to Melbourne for the past few months to pilot a small fixed-wing plane as part of an aerial surveillance team, helping to track the bushfires and relay information about their path.

A major heatwave across Australia’s southeast stoked the fatal fires this summer, forcing hundreds of rural residents to evacuate and burning more than 400,000 hectares in Victoria alone.

Phelps joined his brother Edward, already working in Melbourne as a helicopter pilot, for the bushfire season in September last year.

The brothers piloted their craft over the fires while an operator in the rear took images using specialised photographic equipment “gathering real time intelligence and sending that to the ground crews in terms of mapping the fires and getting a good grasp of the size of them, the hot spots and where best to attack from the ground”, Phelps said.

In Victoria the fires have laid waste to swathes of farmland, killing 45,000 farm animals at last count. Two farmers were killed in Western Australia trying to fight the fires there.

“Because we’re at such a high altitude, it’s really hard to get a proper grasp of the sheer scale of it.

“But as soon as that fire grows, you can see the smoke obviously lifting up into the atmosphere, and the smoke spreading, you know, for miles, hundreds and hundreds of kilometres.”

The 26-year-old, who has been flying a Pilatus PC-12 – a single-engined turboprop – in the fire zones, says it has been a rewarding job knowing the data he helped collect, assisted people on the ground.

“It’s pretty incredible to see the maps come to life, especially once you’ve flown the routes.

“This fire may, because of the westerly, may be moving more so to the east and so you see the outlines grow and for us as fire scanners to see it in real time, then you know, once you’ve finished and see it on the emergency app, it gives you a pretty rewarding sense of this is actually pretty, pretty cool.”

At times, he was aerial scanning the same fire as his brother, who has also been doing aerial intelligence work but at a much lower altitude.

“There was one specific time where we were both on the same fire in the middle of Victoria, and it was just us two on it and talking together and that was pretty special for me.”

Phelps started his commercial pilot career flying tourists over Fiordland, and he said he was used to “tricky” flying.

“The weather changes in a split second, so that is definitely a big part of the challenge, and also with the high terrain, just being very aware of having exit strategies and knowing what you can and can’t do and knowing what the aircraft capability is as well.”

The son of cropping farmers, he got interested in flying when helicopters came to spray the crops.

“I spent a lot of time in those Hughes 500s as a kid, and I just really loved it.”

• Learn more about aerial fire mapping technology used in Australia here.

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